Following his win at UFC 264 on Saturday night, Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Sean O’Malley claimed former division champion Cody Gabrandt was avoiding a fight with him. It remains to be seen if an O’Malley versus Garbrandt scrap happens, but another ranked 135-pounder named Cody does wants a shot at “Sugar.”
Cody Stamann calls for a fight with ‘Sugar Boy’ next
In an Instagram post following O’Malley’s dominant victory over Kris Moutinho, inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Stamann, 31, called for a fight with the rainbow-haired talent. Claiming it was time for the 26-year-old to step up to the next level of the division and face some “varsity” competition.
“Sugar boy, it’s time to come up to varsity huh,” Stamann said in the video.
However, the taunts did not end there. As the nine-fight UFC veteran captioned the video by claiming the level of competition he has faced in the Octagon so far is better than O’Malley even on his “best night.” Stamann has previously competed against current division king Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera, and Merab Dvalishvili during his tenure in the promotion.
“I’ll sign a contract tonight. Every fight I’ve had in the UFC would be tougher than Sean O’Malley on his best night,” Stamann wrote.
Stamann has campaigned for a scrap with Sean O’Malley before
This is not the first time “Spartan” has called for a fight with the uber-popular bantamweight. The pair have exchanged words on Twitter in the past as O’Malley’s star has risen. And recently, Stamann publicly campaigned to be O’Malley’s short-notice replacement opponent at UFC 264, after original foe Louis Smolka could not make the date due to a staph infection.
In an interview with MMAJunkie before Moutinho became the official choice, Stamann explained why a fight with someone like him is a necessity for O’ Malley if the hype surrounding him is to be believed.
I haven’t exactly had the easiest run in the UFC, and I’m super jealous and envious of the run he’s had, Stamann said. I haven’t gotten those fights. I haven’t gotten those fights where you get guys on a skid, or you get a name on his way out. I’ve just gotten anybody that wins fights, six fights in a row, I’m like the gatekeeper in the rankings, like I gotta go fight that guy. If a guy goes on a huge streak and he wins a bunch and he’s the next big thing, that’s the guy I have to fight. I’ve been an underdog in almost all my UFC matchups, probably more so than anybody else in the bantamweight division, and sometimes I can pull it off.
“How long can you just fight guys outside of the rankings, guys on their way out before people start to realize that maybe you’re not a legit contender and that you’re just a guy that has a flashy style that people like to see. You’re a character outside the cage, but there’s no hiding when you get in there. It doesn’t really matter who you smoke weed with or how many followers you have on Instagram because when you get in the cage and fight somebody, that’s real. And fight somebody that’s competed against the best, it’s a different experience, and I learned it the hard way.”
Stamann has lost his last two bouts inside the Octagon. Both to ranked competition in the aforementioned Rivera and Dvalishvili. He does not have a set date or opponent for his next fight.
